Live Oak Investment Partners Acquires New Position in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 10,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,325,000. AutoNation accounts for 1.2% of Live Oak Investment Partners’ holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in AutoNation during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoNation by 37.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 2,477.8% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 45.3% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Stock Up 0.4%

AN stock opened at $215.24 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $209.05 and its 200 day moving average is $209.80. The stock has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $148.33 and a 1-year high of $228.92.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $5.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.85 by $0.16. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.38% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The business had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.02 earnings per share. AutoNation’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, October 31st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AN. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on AutoNation from $220.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of AutoNation in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $244.22.

About AutoNation

AutoNation, Inc is the largest automotive retailer in the United States, operating a network of franchised new vehicle dealerships, pre-owned vehicle superstores and collision-repair centers. The company offers a comprehensive range of automotive products and services, including the sale of new cars and light trucks from leading manufacturers, certified pre-owned vehicles and a wide selection of used models. In addition to retail vehicle sales, AutoNation provides financing, insurance and extended service contracts through its in-house financial services division, as well as genuine and aftermarket parts, factory-recommended maintenance and collision-repair services.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AutoNation was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H.